The party continues in Seville: it's time for Real Betis and Sevilla to meet in El Gran Derbi
Real Betis and Sevilla will meet on Sunday in an important match as they aim to end the season by completing their respective goals.
Real Betis and Sevilla are largely in competition from afar in La Liga this year, at opposite ends of the table, but the standings count for little when it's time for El Gran Derbi. This is the most important match of the year in the Andalusian capital and is lived in a special way in the stands and in the field, with nerves, intensity and competitiveness. In fact, the last three duels between the two teams ended in draws.
Manuel Pellegrini's team is best positioned in the table, with 48 points and the realistic goal of playing in the European competition next season. With two consecutive wins after four defeats in a row, the Verdiblancos are back in the European standings and enter El Gran Derbi full of confidence and ready to try and take three points away from their biggest rivals.
For Sevilla, the season has been more complicated, even to the point of fearing relegation. However, with three wins in the last five games, Quique Sanchez Flores' side have allayed those fears and shown that their players still have quality. Europe may be out of reach, but winning El Gran Derbi would at least be a small triumph for all their fans in the last part of a tough season.
The match will be special for Isco Alarcon, playing against his former team and in front of his new fans. The Spaniard has recently recovered from injury and, in the match against Valencia at Mestalla, he showed that he is ready for El Gran Derbi. He is the player in the League with the third most dribbling and the undisputed leader of Pellegrini's team.
He will face a former Real Madrid teammate, Sergio Ramos, who will play his first El Gran Derbi in almost 20 years, as he was left on the bench in the first meeting of this season, unable to play. The Sevilla centre-back has not played at the Real Betis stadium in a Sevilla shirt since May 2005. He lost that match, so he will be aiming for a different result this time around.
The duel in the dugouts is also attractive. Pellegrini is the opponent that Quique Sanchez Flores has faced the most times as a coach and the head-to-head record is very much in favor of the Real Betis man. They have met on 17 occasions, with 11 wins for the Chilean, two draws and four wins for the Spanish manager. For Pellegrini, he has only faced Unai Emery more times, on 19 occasions, so it is certainly a classic battle of the dugouts.
The city has just had its famous Feria de Sevilla, and now another festive atmosphere is coming to the city. For this city, El Gran Derbi between The Real Betis and Seville It cannot be matched by any other day in the League, as the importance of this match is so high, especially when it takes place towards the end of the season. One team is pushing for Europe and the other is hoping to give their fans something to celebrate in this up and down season, so the Estadio Benito Villamarin will be the place to be in Seville on Sunday night.
